focus on federalism:
a hearing of the csg federalism task force

Saturday, Sept. 21, 2:30-5:30 p.m.

With Washington deadlocked, the onus of action and policy innovation is increasingly moving to state capitols. A recent cover story in The Economist magazine championed state efforts in fostering innovation, building infrastructure and reforming education as “the essence of the America that works.” Given the clear need to ensure that states have the freedom to serve as the laboratories of democracy envisioned by our founders, CSG has launched a Federalism Task Force to conduct a two-year effort to explore options for improving the state-federal relationship. The task force will hold its first hearing in conjunction with CSG’s 2013 National Conference in Kansas City, Mo.

This hearing is open to attendees registered for the CSG 2013 National Conference.

Speakers

Panel #1: The History and Evolution of Federalism in the United States

John Kincaid

Professor of Government and Public Service and Director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government, Lafayette College

Panel #3: The Way Forward: Options for Influencing the State-Federal Relationship

Ingrid Schroeder

Director, Fiscal Federalism Initiatives, The PEW Charitable Trusts

Anne Stauffer

Director, Fiscal Federalism, The PEW Charitable Trusts

John Kincaid

John Kincaid is the Robert B. and Helen S. Meyner Professor of Government and Public Service and Director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government. He also is Senior Editor of the Global Dialogue on Federalism and Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He served as Associate Editor and Editor of Publius: The Journal of Federalism (1981-2006); Editor of a series of books on the Governments and Politics of the American States; Executive Director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (1988-94); and Vice President and Co-Treasurer of the Pentagon Papers Fund for the Defense of Human and Civil Liberties in support of the legal defense of Daniel Ellsberg and Antony Russo in the Pentagon Papers Trial (1971-73). He has written and lectured extensively on federalism and state and local government in the United States and abroad.

Governor Jim Douglas

Governor Jim Douglas served the people of Vermont for more than 35 years. He was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives after graduating from Middlebury College in 1972. The former Governor was elected Secretary of State in 1980, a post he held for 12 years. Douglas successfully sought the office of Governor in 2002 and was re-elected in 2004, 2006 and 2008. During his tenure, he focused on strengthening the state’s economy, reducing the cost of living in Vermont and protecting the state’s natural environment. He advanced groundbreaking health reforms that have made Vermont a model among the states in health care. He is currently an Executive in Residence at Middlebury College.

Ingrid Schroeder

Ingrid Schroeder oversees Pew’s efforts to provide independent and unbiased data on the relationship between the federal and state governments, particularly the impact of federal deficit reduction on states and other issues. Schroeder leads a team of researchers, working in collaboration with outside experts from across the political spectrum, to provide policy makers, the media, and the public with solid, nonpartisan analyses and accessible information. Before transitioning to the Fiscal Federalism Initiative, Schroeder served as director of the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative and Subsidyscope. These projects examined the federal budget, deficit, debt, subsidies, and tax expenditures to raise public awareness through nonpartisan data and analysis. Prior to joining Pew, Schroeder was a senior executive at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). During her 17 years at OMB, she supervised a team that coordinated and cleared the administration’s policy positions on legislation for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Social Security Administration, the Office of Veterans Affairs, and the Office of Personnel Management.

Anne Stauffer

Anne Stauffer is the director of fiscal federalism at Pew, examining fiscal and policy relationships between the federal government and the states. As project lead, Stauffer oversees a team of researchers exploring the impact of federal deficit reduction on the states. She also directs efforts to engage policymakers at both levels of government in proactive discussions on this critical fiscal relationship. Before joining Pew, Stauffer spent over a decade in state and federal budget development and policy. She was an assistant division director in the State Budget Division of the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, which develops the governor’s budget. Prior to her work in New Mexico, Stauffer was a program examiner for telecommunications agencies with the Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C. Stauffer has an MBA from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina and a bachelor's degree in International Relations from Brown University.